Learning Team A Michaela Puffer, Katherine Miller, Natalie Starr, Nicole Ferrell, Samaria Randle Tisby RDG/555 October 29, 2012 Lynette Kitchen In this Wiki, we are going to highlight some best practices in reading material regarding the primary grade levels. Below are the five areas of material/media we are researching.
Leveled Texts
Literature- appropriate for independent reading and for book clubs
Basal Series
Web Programs
Newspapers and Magazines
Leveled Texts by Michaela Puffer
A leveled book collection is a large set of books organized in levels of difficulty from the easy books that an emergent reader might begin to the longer, complex books which are more appropriate for advanced readers. In some schools, the leveled readers are kept in the library, resource area, or the individual classrooms. There are multiple copies of many books for the children to have access to during small reading group time. There might be ten levels for grades K–1 and three or four levels for each later grade.
There are many advantages to leveled books set, some examples are included below:
An organized set of books makes it easier to select books for groups of children.
Having a gradient of text provides a way to assess children's progress over time.
A book collection is established that does not need to be replaced but is revised and expanded over time.
As the collection expands, the varieties of text will provide opportunities for children to increase their reading power through experiencing diverse texts.
It is also crucial to provide variety within each level. Readers who experience only one kind of book may develop a narrow range of strategies for processing text. Instead, we want young readers to use their skills in a flexible way for many different purposes.
A leveled collection may be constructed simply by gathering a large set of books and working with colleagues to evaluate the texts. Schools and teachers can use pre-developed criteria to level thier reading books or develop their own criteria to assist them in book leveling. Using your experiences in teaching, you will find that you can place books along a continuum of difficulty. Of course, your initial rankings should be tested with children over a period of time. Gradually, categories will become more stable. Many groups of teachers have worked with their collections over several years, periodically coming together to discuss books, revise levels, and add new books. As you discuss books, you will discover that you are also talking about the children and their reading behavior. You will be getting to know both the books and the readers. There are also already pre-leveled collections available to purchase from different publishers, book clubs, etc.
What AreSome Criteria for Leveling Books?No single aspect or characteristic of text can be used to evaluate reading material. In placing a text along a gradient of difficulty, many factors are considered.
Length — Consider the number of pages, the number of words, and the number of lines on the page. Books for beginners will have just one or two lines on a page.
Layout — Beginners need texts with a large font and clear spaces between words and lines. Sentences begin on the left and print is clearly separated from pictures. In more complex books, sentences begin in the middle of lines or are carried over onto the next page. Fonts become smaller.
Structure and Organization — Early books have simple plots and some repetition. Some books use repeating episodes or complex plots organized chronologically. As books become more challenging, more interpretation will be needed.
Illustrations — Easier books provide pictures to support the reader in gaining meaning and solving words. Picture support gradually decreases as you move up the gradient of difficulty.
Words — Beginning books use high-frequency words, text with regular spelling words, and content words reinforced by pictures. More challenging texts use multi-syllabic words and a wider range vocabulary to express meaning.
Phrases and Sentences — The gradient begins with very simple sentences and goes on to include longer, more complex sentences with embedded clauses.
Literary Features — Consider the complexity of the ideas. What must readers understand about the characters, setting, and plot to read this book with understanding? Literary features such as flashbacks or metaphors may introduce a challenge.
Content and Theme — Books for young children will focus on topics and themes that are familiar to them. Complexity gradually increases to ideas and topics that children would not experience in everyday lives. Some sophisticated themes require maturity for understanding and may mean that a book is more challenging, even if other factors make it seem easy.
Literature - appropriate for independent reading and for book clubs
by Natalie Starr
Independent reading in primary grades K–2 offers students an everyday opportunity to practice reading books that are easy for them to comprehend. The books should offer 1 to 4 lines per page, use simple punctuation, larger print, and should include pictures. Students should read literature that is at their specific levels, some students may be reading emergent texts (1 sentence per page), where others may be at the early readers stage (1-4 sentences per page). Book (shares) Clubs are a wonderful way to incorporate independent reading into mini lessons, of 15 to 20 minutes. This can be done in pairs, small groups, or as whole group instruction. This is a great way for students to share their books, and tell what read from the story. This helps the student with retaining information, and comprehension.
Literature appropriate for independent reading and for book clubs- Emergent Readers: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? By Eric Carle How’s the Weather? By Rozanne Williams (science) Goodnight Moon by Margaret Brown Early Readers: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson Green Eggs and Ham by Dr.Seuss
For any given selection there will be worksheets/activities that cover the following skills:
Comprehension Skills
Key Vocabulary and Vocabulary Skills
Graphic Organizers
Phonic Skills
Spelling
Grammar
Writing
A good idea would be to focus primarily on Comprehension, Phonics, Key Vocabulary, Vocabulary Skills, Graphic Organizers, and some Writing practice worksheets and activities. Spelling, Grammar, and Writing skills are covered in more depth with your Spelling and English resources. Make sure you are taking the comprehension test at the end of each theme and each week to check for understanding. 80% or higher scored on a weekly basis demonstrates a child’s understanding of mastery level for this weeks selection story. Point out to students the focus skills and focus questions you will be working with through out the week to know what and why we are learning the stuff we are learning. Have a follow up activity to do with your students after you have read the selection story. It can be on the phonics skills you are working on, comprehension, spelling or even vocabulary. Students should reread selection story on a daily basis for accuracy and fluency as well as comprehension understanding. Victoria Davids**davids.victoria@blvs.org** Guideline Directions for Houghton-Mifflin Basal Reading Series BLVS 1st - 6th Grade
Reference: http://www.blvs.org/gen/blvs/Reading__Basal_Reading_Guidance_p432.html
Web Programs by Nicole Ferrell
Using technology is a powerful tool to motivate students to practice and deepen their understanding. It gamifies the learning process which is more of what students of today are use to. It is also important to begin teaching technology skills at an early age because there are technology standards for students at all levels to be able to show 21st Century Skills. These standards were created by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) http://www.iste.org/standards.
Open Source Websites:
Starfall(http://www.starfall.com/)- This website features activities, stories, and film clips designed to introduce single-syllable patterns. The program has a speech component so that words can be read. It highlights words in parts so that students can hear separate sounds in words and also match letters and sounds. In a number of activities Starfall builds words much as is done in word building.
ReadWriteThink (http://www.readwritethink.org/)- this website aims to improve student achievement in traditional classroom settings and beyond by providing thousands of free educational resources across seven disciplines. Resources include lesson plans, interactives, activites, and print outs.
Teachers' Domain (http://www.teachersdomain.org/)- contains more than 1,000 free media resources that include video and audio segments, Flash interactives, images, documents, lesson plans for teachers, and student-oriented activities. Once you register, you can personalize the site using "My Folders" and "My Groups" to save your favorite resources into a folder and share them with your colleagues or students.
Storybird (http://storybird.com/teachers/)- will help reluctant readers read and critique stories from authors their age.
BrainNook (http://www.brainnook.com/index.php)- helps children develop Math and English skills while being immersed in a fun, competitive online game experience.
Pay-For Websites:
Espresso Elementary (http://www.espressoeducation.com/)- Espresso Elementary for Pre-K to 5th grade is a cross-curricular, multimedia learning site with a wide range of interactive, video-rich classroom resources that inspire children to learn.
BrainPOP Jr. (http://www.brainpopjr.com/)- creates animated, curricular content that engages students, supports educators, and bolsters achievement.
Software:
Simon Sounds It Out (http://www.donjohnston.com/products/simon_sio/)-This software, pronounces and helps students build words by combining initial consonants (onsets) and word patterns (rimes). Featuring an electronic tutor, it provides especially effective practice for word building. Because it pronounces and shows parts of words, it also helps develop phonemic awareness.
Tenth Planet: Exploring Literacy (http://commerce.sunburst.com/product.aspx?p=82438)- includes sorting activities, building words, and the writing of rhymes and songs. Programs include Letter Sounds, Vowels: Short and Long, Consonant Blends and Digraphs; Vowel Patterns; and Word Parts (working with multisyllabic words).
Newspapers and Magazines
by Samaria Randle Tisby
Using newspapers and magazines can be great tools to use when children are learning to read. They are easy to attain and are inexpensive tools to use. Newspapers are good ways to get information on current events, things going on in the world, and also things going on in their own community. Not only can newspapers be used to help students with prices in advertisements, it can be used in art centers for art activities, and also teach students to recycle with newspapers, showing them the many things that are made of newspapers. When using newspapers during lessons, feel free to use your imagination, the amount of lessons that can be prepared with newspapers are countless. Magazines can basically be used the same as newspapers. Both are inexpensive, and provide a variety of information that can be used during lessons. Magazines offer colorful pictures that can be used to describe different subject, and even help with writing sentences. The activities can be limitless, and can help even the youngest reader be able to get their thoughts out. Below is a website that has examples of activities that maybe used in the classroom. Extra, Extra! Using Newspapers as Teaching Tools
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many beneficial ways to utilize basal readers, web programs, various literature, leveled texts, newspapers, and magazines in the classroom. We hope you have gained some valuable information while reading this Wiki we created. These are, of course, only a few of the best ways to use these valuable resources in the classroom. Please come back and visit our Wiki, as we continue to add more resources in the future.
Best Practices - Reading Material
Table of Contents
Learning Team A
Michaela Puffer, Katherine Miller, Natalie Starr, Nicole Ferrell,
Samaria Randle Tisby
RDG/555
October 29, 2012
Lynette Kitchen
In this Wiki, we are going to highlight some best practices in reading material regarding the primary grade levels. Below are the five areas of material/media we are researching.
Leveled Texts by Michaela Puffer
A leveled book collection is a large set of books organized in levels of difficulty from the easy books that an emergent reader might begin to the longer, complex books which are more appropriate for advanced readers. In some schools, the leveled readers are kept in the library, resource area, or the individual classrooms. There are multiple copies of many books for the children to have access to during small reading group time. There might be ten levels for grades K–1 and three or four levels for each later grade.
There are many advantages to leveled books set, some examples are included below:
It is also crucial to provide variety within each level. Readers who experience only one kind of book may develop a narrow range of strategies for processing text. Instead, we want young readers to use their skills in a flexible way for many different purposes.
A leveled collection may be constructed simply by gathering a large set of books and working with colleagues to evaluate the texts. Schools and teachers can use pre-developed criteria to level thier reading books or develop their own criteria to assist them in book leveling. Using your experiences in teaching, you will find that you can place books along a continuum of difficulty. Of course, your initial rankings should be tested with children over a period of time. Gradually, categories will become more stable. Many groups of teachers have worked with their collections over several years, periodically coming together to discuss books, revise levels, and add new books. As you discuss books, you will discover that you are also talking about the children and their reading behavior. You will be getting to know both the books and the readers. There are also already pre-leveled collections available to purchase from different publishers, book clubs, etc.
What Are Some Criteria for Leveling Books?No single aspect or characteristic of text can be used to evaluate reading material. In placing a text along a gradient of difficulty, many factors are considered.
- Length — Consider the number of pages, the number of words, and the number of lines on the page. Books for beginners will have just one or two lines on a page.
- Layout — Beginners need texts with a large font and clear spaces between words and lines. Sentences begin on the left and print is clearly separated from pictures. In more complex books, sentences begin in the middle of lines or are carried over onto the next page. Fonts become smaller.
- Structure and Organization — Early books have simple plots and some repetition. Some books use repeating episodes or complex plots organized chronologically. As books become more challenging, more interpretation will be needed.
- Illustrations — Easier books provide pictures to support the reader in gaining meaning and solving words. Picture support gradually decreases as you move up the gradient of difficulty.
- Words — Beginning books use high-frequency words, text with regular spelling words, and content words reinforced by pictures. More challenging texts use multi-syllabic words and a wider range vocabulary to express meaning.
- Phrases and Sentences — The gradient begins with very simple sentences and goes on to include longer, more complex sentences with embedded clauses.
- Literary Features — Consider the complexity of the ideas. What must readers understand about the characters, setting, and plot to read this book with understanding? Literary features such as flashbacks or metaphors may introduce a challenge.
- Content and Theme — Books for young children will focus on topics and themes that are familiar to them. Complexity gradually increases to ideas and topics that children would not experience in everyday lives. Some sophisticated themes require maturity for understanding and may mean that a book is more challenging, even if other factors make it seem easy.
References:Pinnell, G.S. (2012). Scholastic Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/artice/what-leveled-reading
Literature - appropriate for independent reading and for book clubs
by Natalie Starr
Independent reading in primary grades K–2 offers students an everyday opportunity to practice reading books that are easy for them to comprehend. The books should offer 1 to 4 lines per page, use simple punctuation, larger print, and should include pictures. Students should read literature that is at their specific levels, some students may be reading emergent texts (1 sentence per page), where others may be at the early readers stage (1-4 sentences per page).
Book (shares) Clubs are a wonderful way to incorporate independent reading into mini lessons, of 15 to 20 minutes. This can be done in pairs, small groups, or as whole group instruction. This is a great way for students to share their books, and tell what read from the story. This helps the student with retaining information, and comprehension.
Literature appropriate for independent reading and for book clubs-
Emergent Readers:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? By Eric Carle
How’s the Weather? By Rozanne Williams (science)
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Brown
Early Readers:
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr.Seuss
Reference:
Benchmark Education (2012) Best Practices in Independent Reading. Retrieved from http://www.benchmarkeducation.com/reading/k-2-independent-reading.html
Basal Series by Katherine Miller
For any given selection there will be worksheets/activities that cover the following skills:
A good idea would be to focus primarily on Comprehension, Phonics, Key Vocabulary, Vocabulary Skills, Graphic Organizers, and some Writing practice worksheets and activities. Spelling, Grammar, and Writing skills are covered in more depth with your Spelling and English resources.
Make sure you are taking the comprehension test at the end of each theme and each week to check for understanding. 80% or higher scored on a weekly basis demonstrates a child’s understanding of mastery level for this weeks selection story.
Point out to students the focus skills and focus questions you will be working with through out the week to know what and why we are learning the stuff we are learning.
Have a follow up activity to do with your students after you have read the selection story. It can be on the phonics skills you are working on, comprehension, spelling or even vocabulary.
Students should reread selection story on a daily basis for accuracy and fluency as well as comprehension understanding.
Victoria Davids**davids.victoria@blvs.org**
Guideline Directions for Houghton-Mifflin Basal Reading Series BLVS 1st - 6th Grade
Reference:
http://www.blvs.org/gen/blvs/Reading__Basal_Reading_Guidance_p432.html
Web Programs by Nicole Ferrell
Using technology is a powerful tool to motivate students to practice and deepen their understanding. It gamifies the learning process which is more of what students of today are use to. It is also important to begin teaching technology skills at an early age because there are technology standards for students at all levels to be able to show 21st Century Skills. These standards were created by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) http://www.iste.org/standards.
Open Source Websites:
Pay-For Websites:
Software:
Newspapers and Magazines
by Samaria Randle Tisby
Using newspapers and magazines can be great tools to use when children are learning to read. They are easy to attain and are inexpensive tools to use. Newspapers are good ways to get information on current events, things going on in the world, and also things going on in their own community. Not only can newspapers be used to help students with prices in advertisements, it can be used in art centers for art activities, and also teach students to recycle with newspapers, showing them the many things that are made of newspapers. When using newspapers during lessons, feel free to use your imagination, the amount of lessons that can be prepared with newspapers are countless. Magazines can basically be used the same as newspapers. Both are inexpensive, and provide a variety of information that can be used during lessons. Magazines offer colorful pictures that can be used to describe different subject, and even help with writing sentences. The activities can be limitless, and can help even the youngest reader be able to get their thoughts out. Below is a website that has examples of activities that maybe used in the classroom.
Extra, Extra! Using Newspapers as Teaching Tools
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many beneficial ways to utilize basal readers, web programs, various literature, leveled texts, newspapers, and magazines in the classroom. We hope you have gained some valuable information while reading this Wiki we created. These are, of course, only a few of the best ways to use these valuable resources in the classroom. Please come back and visit our Wiki, as we continue to add more resources in the future.